Imaginary
by redpony
Summary: Pitch develops a bond with a child. However, will this bond cause his down fall at the hands of the king of chaos? FRIENDSHIP! NO FLAMES! R
1. Prologue

Imaginary

Don't say I'm out of touch

With this rampant chaos - your reality

I know well what lies beyond my sleeping refuge

The nightmare I built my own world to escape

Swallowed up in the sound of my screaming

Cannot cease for the fear of silent nights

Oh, how I long for the deep sleep dreaming

The goddess of imaginary light

-_Imaginary, Evanescence_

_Prologue_

_Pitch slunk silently over the fallen leaves coated with slick snow. He mutely turned his head, searching the snow fallen landscape for any sign of movement to clue him in on the location of the girl. He shifted forms into his shadow before sliding up a tree in a spiral motion to perch himself on the edge of a high limb to peer out over the wind tossed forest. This view did not help, but it was cool. Frost must have been having a great time creating a snow storm to cover the place in this much snow._

_ A snapping of a twig somewhere near by clued him in to what he was doing. He turned, but all he heard was an enraged scream. Pitch gasped as a figure collided with him, propelling him off the tree. He landed on his back, and looked up the knobby staff pointed at his nose._

"_What are you doing here Pitch?" Jack Frost's words were as icy as the element he controlled. His eyes glimmered sharply and he held the staff stiffly as if daring Pitch to try anything._

"_How've you been Jack? Enjoying life as a GUARDIAN?" Pitch spit the final word out with as much venom as he could muster. "To what do I owe the PLEASURE to once again be on the receiving end of that staff?"_

_Jack glowered at the king of fear, "Don't act innocent Pitch, you wouldn't show your face here unless you were planning something. What now?"_

_Pitch held up his hands, "I have no quarrel here."_

_A new voice with a heavy Australian accent broke the silence, "You must be joking mate." Bunnymund strode out from behind a frozen tree. "A bloke like you doesn't show up without a reason."_

_The Tooth Fairy and Sandman hovered down from the sky. Sandman had his whips clenched protectively in his fists, and Tooth looked like she'd knock out more than just one of his teeth this time if he did anything stupid. _

_North came from behind them, "We cannot allow you to harm the children again Pitch." His Russian accent making his words as sharp as the dual swords he held at the ready._

_Pitch raised his voice, "I'm not trying to harm the world's children! If you just give me a chance to explain-"_

_North cut him off, "No. No more chances Pitch. We gave chances before, and it did NOT work."_

_Pitch moved quickly, and managed to move himself to stand in the center of a circle of guardians. "Look, I'm telling you, I'm not here to hurt anyone! I just-"_

_Jack pointed his staff at Pitch, "Why would we believe you? After all you did, all the children you tormented, and all of the lies you told you're lucky to still be standing here." _

_Sandman had nightmares and other images depicting Pitch's misdeeds popping up over his head so quickly that no one could decipher them._

_Pitch clasped his hands, "Please, I just-"_

_North thrusted a sword in front of Pitch, "Enough. No more time for lies." North drew the sword back, while the other guardians prepared for any sort of resistance on Pitch's part. Pitch had none, he was still too weak. Besides, he no longer had any desire to destroy the guardians. He shut his eyes, and held his arms out in a gesture of surrender. North drew back the sword and..._

"_Pi-i-i-i-itch!" A voice called. North froze, the sword inches away from Pitch's neck. Wide blue eyes curiously searched the landscape for the source of the voice. "Pi-i-itch! Pitch where'd you go?" A little girl, no older than 11 stumbled into the clearing._

"_Pitch, what happened? I was hiding and you were supposed to..." The girl trailed off, her dark green eyes widened as she took in the scene. "Seek," she meekly finished. The guardians all stared at the little brown haired girl in the deep purple coat and grey mittens. "Pitch? What's..." She trailed off again as her eyes widened at the sight of the sword mere inches from Pitch's neck._

**So, that was the prologue. Tell me what you think. Loved it? Hated it? Thought it was okay? I wanna know. I live off reviews and would love a bunch letting me know if this is good. This story will involve a villain, a man who controls Chaos. I think I have a basic idea for his look, but let me know if you have any suggestions. This will be a Pitch friendship type thing, NO ROMANCE! So don't get you're hopes up. So, I should have the first chapter up as soon as I think of a good beginning. However, be warned, if I lose inspiration it can be a long time before I update. So, yeah REVIEW! Flames will be ignored and put out with my water of "it's your opinion."**

** Red**


	2. Chapter 1

**Welcome to the first real chapter of **_**Imaginary**_**. Special shout outs to Moth Mask, Galimatias, KikaKatTIOI, maltese, BubblegumLight, AnimatedCyclone244, and The Bloodless for leaving reviews. You guys rock! So, when I saw Rise of the Guardians, I absolutely loved Pitch. But, I felt really bad for the guy too. I mean, he was given the power of fear, so he was pretty much set up for a bad life. Then, he was completely forgotten about, left all alone, and thought of as imaginary. I mean, how would you like it if people said that you weren't real? Then when he did finally try to be heard, his negative feelings caused him to lash out in a destructive rampage. SO, character rant aside, I give you chapter one of **_**Imaginary**_**.**

**-Red**

_How can you see into my eyes like open doors?_

_Leading you down into my core where I've become so numb_

_Without a soul my spirit's sleeping somewhere cold _

_until you find it there and lead it back home_

_Wake me up_

_Wake me up inside_

_I can't wake up_

_Wake me up inside_

_Save me_

_call my name and save me from the dark_

_Wake me up_

_bid my blood to run_

_I can't wake up_

_before I come undone_

_Save me_

_save me from the nothing I've become_

_-Bring Me Back To Life Evanescence_

o0o

Pitch's agonizing screams echoed through out the stone caverns. The king of fear's golden eyes glanced around madly as he battled creatures that were not there. The nightmares had flown into his head, feeding his fear until he literally saw the horrors his mind had kept at bay for so long. He screamed as monsters surrounded him, some he felt. He felt the hollow claws on his arms, and the sharp teeth on his neck. Each time, the monsters attacked, they would change. Going from physical fears to ones that made Pitch want to cry. He once again saw the children he had instilled terror in for so long walk past him as if he did not exist. He didn't exist, no one believed in him, so he was cursed as a specter. A walking shadow doomed to hide under beds. He heard the voices, the voices of children.

"I don't believe in the boogeyman."

"He's not real."

"Who'd be scared of the boogeyman?"

"Just a story parents tell to get their kids to behave."

"Not real."

"NOT REAL."

They all swirled around Pitch, flowing into his ears and causing him to drop to his knees. The once mighty monster curled into a ball, clutching his ears. He desperately tried to block out the voices, but they grew louder and louder until the stone ceiling and empty cages shook violently.

"STOP!" He screamed, trying to be heard over the wailing children. "STOP! I STILL COMMAND YOU! I AM THE KING OF FEAR." The nightmares continued, their message clear. He had no power now.

o0o

Teresa Evans shrieked loudly as she glanced at the white flurry beating against the window of her room. Only one word raced through her head as she struggled to get dressed. "Snow Day!" She trilled as she pulled a grey beanie over her messy brow curls and purple gloves over her hands. She ran out of her room and took the stairs two at a time. "MOM! MOM! IT'S SNOWING! MOM!" She shrieked as she ran into the kitchen.

"Slow down Resa," her mother called looking up from the cookie dough she was mixing. "Before you-" Her mother dropped the sentence as she heard her daughter crash into something.

"I'm okay!" Teresa called as she plopped down into a chair by the table, tying a grey scarf around her neck. "Mom it's snowing! School's cancelled right!?"

Terra's mother grinned at her daughter, and nodded while placing the mixing bowl on the counter, "Yes Resa. They announced it on the radio this morning."

Resa jumped out of her chair and began dancing around wildly, "YES YES YES! I had a quiz in History today and was-" Resa trailed off with the look her mother shot her. "totally ready for it." Resa finished, her cheeks turning pink. Her mom nodded.

"Uh-huh. Suure. Now, eat your breakfast." Her mother set a bowl of cereal in front of Resa, who immediately began to eat.

After the cereal was quickly demolished Resa leapt from the table, hollered a goodbye to her mother and ran out the door. Pulling on one boot at a time she hopped down the stairs and ran to get her friend Nick, this was going to be EPIC.

o0o

Pitch was still huddled in the fetal position. The nightmares were sifting together, forming a cloud of dark sand, it was swirling around him now. Blocking out his surroundings, if he looked up, all he would see would be shimmering black sand. The children's voices had changed to the coarse cries of nightmares. The sound surrounded him, it assaulted his ears and drilled itself into his skull. The pain resurfaced, a sharp beating against his skull, and Pitch clutched his head harder. He squeezed his eyes shut, and the sound stopped.

Flashes of white light popped against Pitch's closed eyes. "Pitch," a voice called. He shook his head, refusing to lift his head, this was another kind of torture. The nightmares were trying to trick him. "Pitch, come along, it is time to go." Pitch felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, and stared at the man in the moon who was kneeling in front of him.

o0o

END

**CLIFFHANGER! In reply to some reviews:**

**Moth Mask: I hope to crank out some more chapters!**

**Galimatais: I'M UPDATING!**

**KikaKatTIOI: Thanks! I hope to not disappoint.**

**maltese: Thanks!**

**BubblegumLight: Thanks, I hope this doesn't go to mush either. I agree fully on the villain thing.**

**AnimatedCyclone244: Thanks**

**The Bloodless: I did and plan to continue to do so.**

**ATTENTION: As you all know (if you read the summary or the A/N after The Prologue) I plan to create a new villain. I'd love some feedback on what you think a master of chaos would look like. Blonde? Black haired? Red? LET ME KNOW! **

**I'd love some more reviews! They're cake for me.**

**THANK YOU!**

**Red**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey Guys! I hope you all had a merry christmas! I'm giving a VERY LARGE SHOUT OUT TO ALL YOU GUYS WHO REVIEWED ME KING OF CHAOS IDEAS! (so thanks to The Raven's Writing Desk, Galimatais, BubblegumLight, The Bloodless, and Moth Mask). *BONUS SHOUT OUT TO MOTH MASK FOR ACTUALLY ****DRAWING**** SOME DESIGNS* All of them will be used, but not in a way that you think ;). The design featured here was submitted by The Raven's Writing Desk, so thank you a bunch. (Note: One of Moth Masks was used too.) Also, I know that somewhere out there a real Man in the Moon design exists, but I made my own. **

**I love when you guys get to contribute to my writing so I have another thingy that you guys can do designs for. The King of Chaos will have a group of followers who wish to bring him back to rule. Two designs have selected already (thank you Moth Mask), I think there will be about five. So send in your ideas! More info will be below. So without further delay, I give you Chapter two of Imaginary.**

o0o

The man in the moon's silver eyes shone with pity as he took in the state of the nearly broken boogeyman. Never in his entire life, had Pitch been more relieved to see a person before. The man in the moon had neatly trimmed bluish white hair that was cut neatly away from his face. He wore a midnight blue robe, cut like a monk's, that seemed to have stars literally woven into the fabric. It hung loosely off of his thin body, but his thin appearance couldn't hide the power that seemed to dance from the tips of his slim fingers. A few wisps of a bluish beard gave years to his ageless face, but his expression was what would really tell a person how aged he really was. His face told of the years he had watched fade away on the moon. His face told of the tragedies and joys that he had been a witness to, but it was the eyes that really shone out if you looked at him. Amid pools of silver as shimmering as two sparkling stars, a certain quality hung. These weren't the eyes of a man, they were the eyes of an other worldly being much wiser than a normal man.

"Pitch," he called. His voice echoed hollowly against the hard silence of the stone. "Pitch, it is time for you to leave this place."

Pitch weakly propped himself against the stone wall, "Why...would you got to the trouble to release me from this prison.." He sucked in a weak breath, "When you and your GUARDIANS." He spat the final word out as hard as he could while forcing air into his lungs which burned like fire. "Worked so very hard to put me here."

The man in the moon shook his head, sadness radiating through his eyes. "I did not wish this upon you Pitch. I only wished to-"

"Protect the children from my nightmares. Yes, I know, I was there."

The man in the moon shook his head, "No Pitch. I only wished to have the guardians help you realize that YOU are not the one we need to be fighting."

Pitch's pained face twisted in confusion, "What?"

"I've seen him coming Pitch, I've seen the signs. The real King is coming."

"Real King? But he was contained, eons ago. I remember."

"Do you remember Pitch? Do you really?" Pitch shut his eyes, leaning back against the wall. As images of the day the King of Chaos fell flickered before his closed eyelids like it was yesterday.

o0o

"_I'm glad you decided to come." The King of Chaos's smooth voice rang crisply and clearly through out the quickly darkening sky. "I knew you would leave them, you and I are...similar you see."_

_Pitch rose from kneeling, "Really? How so?"_

"_I sensed it as soon as I saw you in battle with the wrong side. A darkness is inside you. I knew it would only be a short time before you realized it and gave into it."_

_The King of Chaos's curly blond hair was neatly parted to the side of his pale face. His blue eyes glimmered with a combination of madness and genius. It was like he had the entire battle planned before him. He was dressed in a white suit, a black walking stick with a pulsing red jewel atop it was at his side. Pitch couldn't help feeling on edge around this man. _

"_I guess you were right."_

"_Of course I was right, I see all. Chaos always has control behind it, and so do I."_

_The King came closer to Pitch, "Your powers revealed your true nature also. You are, and always will be pure darkness. You'll see, even after this charade, and you think you've defeated me, you always will return to darkness." The King's words caused Pitch to freeze, his eyes widened._

"_What?"_

"_Oh please Pitch, I do hope you're smart enough to comprehend this. Otherwise, the battle will not be much fun. I know everything. Like how you were supposed to join me, to gain my trust. Then, while my back was turned, you were going to tell those blasted guardians EVERYTHING I told you."_

"_That's not-"_

"_Don't even bother with excuses, for you see, I truly know everything. I even know how this will turn out. You may win now Pitch, but mark my words, I will return and this night will not be forgotten." The King of Chaos banged his stick on the ground and disappeared._

_That night, the guardians had pulled together a last minute assault on the King. Stone eggs, various dream sand creatures, tooth fairies, Yetis, and nightmares led by Pitch and the guardians, had attacked the King of Chaos and his armies. Many on both sides fell, but eventually, The King was lost. _

_Chaos cannot be killed, there is not a possible way in existence to truly destroy chaos, but it can be contained. If a prison is strong enough, chaos cannot escape. And so, far into the sky, in the star Algol in the constellation Perseus, the King of Chaos was imprisoned. _

_His cries echoed through out the skies, "YOU CANNOT CONTAIN CHAOS FOREVER! I SHALL BE BACK, AND WHEN I RETURN, ALL SHALL FALL TO THE CHAOS. NONE CAN ESCAPE MY WRATH. NO ONE SHALL REMAIN."_

o0o

Pitch shook his head, "He could not escape. He does not have the power."

The man in the moon held a hand up, and a white light shone. A figure appeared in the light, like looking into a screen. "This, is Acantha." A woman's face leered tauntingly at him. Her skin was an ashy red with lines drawing out a design on her face. Her green eyes glared accusingly. "I know not where she came from, but she, along with several others, have been slowly destroying the power of the star. The prison is becoming faint, the star no longer shines as it did. If they continue, and they will, he will return. This is why I have freed you Pitch. You need to help the Guardians once again, without you, they will fall, as will the world."

Pitch painfully stood, leaning against the wall for support, "Well, as much as I would love to help you, I think you've got the wrong power. Fear won't fix things, and I won't help you or your precious guardians."

The man in the moon narrowed his eyes, his voice becoming harsher, "Now is not the time for petty grudges, this is much greater than your failed attempts to rule."

Pitch's anger flared, "Grudges? You think this was all about grudges? This was not jealousy, this was my way of making things better FOR ME. I was alone all those years, unseen by anyone. I had to listen to all of the children scream my name AS IF IT WAS A GAME! AS IF I WAS A COMMON HOUSEHOLD BED TIME STORY TO SIMPLY PUT MISBEHAVING CHILDREN IN THEIR PLACE. I WANTED TO SHOW THEM ALL THAT I WAS A FORCE TO FEAR, I WANTED TO FEEL THEIR FEAR COURSING THROUGH ME AGAIN. TO HAVE MY VERY SHADOW CAUSE THEM TO TREMBLE, AS THEY SHOULD." His voice fell to a whisper, "I wanted to be REAL, again."

The man in the moon shook his head, "Pitch, I understand your anger. But you must let this go. If you do not, then we all will perish."

Pitch shook his head, "Do this without me, I am not needed. Your guardians are the protectors now." With that, he formed into his shadow and slid out of the stone caverns. The man in the moon gazed at the receding black figure with sadness, if Pitch did not realize his mistakes, and let them go then they were all doomed.

o0o

Teresa happily knocked on the door of her friend Nick Terran's house, and enjoyed the imprint her fist left on the snowy glass. Snow stuck on the tops of her eyelashes, and her breath left foggy clouds as she waited for someone to answer the door. Mr. Terran's face appeared in the glass window by the door. It swung open, flooding Resa's face with warm air from inside.

"Hi Mr. Terran, can Nick come play?"

"Sure he can, you're in luck. He just got back from seeing his cousins in Burgess." He turned from the door and yelled up the stairs, "Nick! Teresa's here!"

"Coming!" Nick shouted as he ran down the stairs. Nick had fluffy brown hair that he never could keep out of his blue eyes. He was short for eleven, and that was how they'd become friends. In the fourth grade, some kids had been making fun of him, and Teresa had found him crying during recess and given him part of her cookie. They'd been friends ever since.

Nick pulled a black hat on along with his red coat and gloves, "See you later Dad!"

Mr. Terran laughed as the two children ran out into the snow, "Alright you two, just be careful. Don't let the boogeyman get you!" They laughed, and continued to run to the small woods outside Nick's house.

o0o

Teresa giggled as she climbed onto a tree stump, watching the snow fall onto the trees. She toppled over, after a snowball collided with the back of her head.

"NICK!" she shrieked. "That wasn't funny!" She turned around and Nick was bouncing back on his heels, innocently holding his hands behind his back.

"I didn't do it." He tried, but could not keep the grin off his face. "Jack Frost did it."

"Jack Frost? Why would he do that?" Teresa shook snow out of her hair.

"It's all Jamie talked about. He's my cousin, he told me all about how Jack Frost was his friend. He said he met Santa, the Easter Bunny, Sandman, and Tooth Fairy. He even said he saw the _boogeyman_." Nick let his voice drop down, and wiggled his fingers at Teresa.

"The boogeyman? I thought he was just a story."

"Noo, Jamie told me all about him. He said that the boogeyman looks just like a person. But he's really tall. He's got grey skin and gold eyes with sharp teeth that he uses to EAT KIDS!" Nick jumped at her and began to chase her around.

"NICK! STOP IT! NICK COME ON!" She shrieked while giggling and running.

Nick continued to chase her, unfazed, "RAAAAHHHHH I'M THE BOOGEYMAN!"

o0o

Pitch couldn't stand the blasted light any more. He'd been hiding in trees and slinking in shadows all morning. Finally, he'd managed to find an open window to a basement in a house. He'd been hiding in this basement since. He'd knocked over a couple things, but no one would see him if they came down.

o0o

Teresa had played with Nick for most of the afternoon, and he'd told her more about the events of his cousin Jamie and the magical beings he came in contact with. They'd had several more games of "Boogeyman" and he'd tried to scare her again and again. Once Teresa had returned home, her mother had baked cookies. She sat upstairs, munching a cookie and watching the snow fall outside when her mother called, "Resa!"

"Yes'm?"

"I left a window open in the basement. Would you be a dear and go down and close it?"

"Yes m'am" Teresa scooted off her chair and went down to the basement door.

o0o

The basement was very dark. Resa flicked the light switch, but the bulb was dead. A small bit of natural light came from the window, but not enough to find her way through the darkness. She grabbed a flashlight from a closet, and flicked it on. The small beam of light swept past the darkened floor, as she aimed it at the bottom of the stairs leading down into the basement. Tentatively, she reached a foot down to rest on the first squeaky stairs. Each of the three stairs creaked as she put her weight on it, adding more fuel to the fear that was coiling in her stomach. The wind was howling through the open window and a cold chill radiated through the basement. There was no denying it, she was extremely scared. Nick **had** said that the boogeyman came in the dark. She walked a little faster, hoping to clear all boogeyman related thoughts from her mind **and **get out of the basement as soon as possible.

The window was cool to her touch, and flakes of snow rested on her hand as they blew inside. She pushed hard, and the window slid shut. Her source of light extinguished. However, at that moment, so did her flashlight. Resa flicked the switch multiple times, banging the plastic on her leg, but her attempts did no good. Resa began to shiver in fear, frozen in place she tried to calm down. "The boogeyman is not real. The boogeyman is NOT REAL." She said to herself. She jumped when a loud noise came from somewhere to her left. She banged the flashlight again, and the beam flickered to life. She shined it towards the vicinity of where she heard the noise, but nothing was there. "The boogeyman is not-" She stopped talking when a figure loomed upwards in the dark. "real." She finished, her voice quaking.

"Yes," a defined voice called. She pointed the flashlight towards the voice, and her eyes widened. "I am." Resa took that as a sign to scream.

o0o

**On some notes, Algol is a real star and means "The Ghoul" Kind of fitting, isn't it? The King of Chaos will have many forms (kind of like how chaos comes in many ways, so does it's king.) This was his form when he's just talking to opponents. He will have others so if you still have an idea, let me know. This is not an OC story, so just tell me what you think a chaos follower will look like. Thanks to all my reviewers and please leave moree! **

**I bid you farewell,**

**Red**


End file.
